At last we meet again
by Stubsii
Summary: Axel and Roxas had a very unhappy end so how does it all turn out when they get a second chance? AkuRoku Reincarnation AU


When he looked at the clock on his wall the young man let out a loud sigh. Another night had passed without him getting any sleep. College sure was killing him from the inside. When he looked to his left he noticed that all his coffee was gone once again but he was too lazy to make a new one so he decided to go to the coffee shop around the corner.

They had some of the best coffee in town.

As he was sitting there at this lonely table and frequently looking at his watch as if he was waiting for something and sipping his black coffee a man with bright red hair entered the coffee shop. He wasn't new around here, Roxas had seen him before at college though he didn't know what the other was studying. Roxas himself was going to be a lawyer one day.

Taking a sip of his still boiling hot coffee Roxas watched the redhead ordering a cappuccino and adding lots of milk and sugar to it. He had never seemed to be this sweet to Roxas.

Though they had never talked to each other it seemed like they knew each other for decades. Roxas couldn't quite put the finger on it but he was sure he met the other before somewhere.

The redhead looked around the room which was pretty crowdy and then decided to walk right up to Roxas who in turn looked very confused. Maybe they really have met before? But before he could finish his thought the other man already sat down at Roxas' table as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Hi, I'm Axel. I bet you don't mind me sitting here, do you?" Axel was grinning and setting down his cup on the table.

"Not at all." Roxas didn't want Axel to leave yet so of course he didn't say yes. Where did he see Axel before? He couldn't remember.

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Roxas had been so deep in thought that he had actually forgotten about Axel's presence. How stupid of him.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Roxas", he finally introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Roxas." Axel leaned back in his chair and took another sip of his cappuccino. "So, tell me Roxas. What brings you to the coffee shop at 6am?" Well he was right. Sitting here and drinking black coffee probably wasn't the most normal thing to do for a teenager.

"Had a lot to do for college. Didn't get any sleep. Have to be in lecture in two hours." Roxas was too tired to form any full sentences but that didn't seem to bother Axel.

"College life sure is great isn't it?" he asked in a mocking tone. No. No it wasn't. It was hell and it still is and it will probably be next year too but instead of answering him Roxas just put his head on the table and closed his eyes for about three seconds before Axel hit the table to wake him up again.

"Don't you think it's rude to just fall asleep during a conversation?" Maybe he should skip the lecture. Just this once it should be okay. He could still catch up to it in his room with all the books he had. Right now all he wanted is sleep.

"Sorry man but this was the worst night I had in a long time."

"You certainly look like that." Wow thanks a lot. Just when he was talking about being rude.

Roxas downed his coffee and stood up. "Sorry but I really have to go now."

Axel smiled and got up too. "I'll better bring you to your dorm. You look like you're about to pass out from exhaustion." Roxas didn't like that idea much but the other man had already wrapped an arm around his shoulder and guided him out of the coffee shop. He was just too tired to care anymore.

"Which way?" Roxas didn't answer but pushed Axel in the general direction of his dorm. Axel got the hint and started walking. On their way neither of them said a word. They were just quietly walking next to each other. Axel brought Roxas up to his room where he fell down on his bed.

"And … This is your room?" Axel looked around. Some clothes were scattered on the floor like he had expected from a teenager but the room lacked personality. There were no personal things anywhere in this room. No photos, no posters. It was also surprisingly clean. "Looks pretty boring to spend time here."

He looked back to the bed where Roxas still was lying face down in the pillow. He hadn't moved since he fell down just like that. Maybe he died? No he was still breathing.

"Hey, Roxas?" Still no answer. Axel sighed and put a blanket on the smaller boy. He left a note on his table, turned off the lights and left the room to let Roxas get his well needed sleep.

"It really is rude to just fall asleep during a conversation."

* * *

It was about 2pm when Roxas woke up again. With stiff limbs he tried to get up and noticed the blanket around his shoulders.

"Who put them ..." It slowly came back to him. "Oh yeah, right. Axel."

Roxas sighed and left the bed for good. It was too late for any of his lectures for today so he decided to take a shower and go groceries shopping. He completely ignored Axel's note on the table.

With a small list in his head and the wallet in his pocket he went to the groceries store two streets further from his dorm. He needed some instant coffee, milk and food. Maybe some chocolate too. He liked dark chocolate the best.

Roxas took a shopping cart, went inside and started roaming the aisles in search of his needed goods. When he had everything except the chocolate he took off to the candy aisle only to nearly run over Axel who looked rather confused.

"Why don't they sell Kinder chocolate here?! What kinda store is this?!"

"Try dark chocolate for a change." Axel looked at Roxas and didn't quite know if he should laugh or start yelling again. He decided to do neither of those and only shook his head.

"Have you ever tried Kinder chocolate? You can't just pick something else it's like cheating on your lover and no one does that." Well at least no one should do it. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Roxas didn't really understand the question and pointed to his shopping cart. "What does it look like to you?"

"Okay okay, don't give me that look." Axel sighed and then grabbed some random dark chocolate. "You seem to be the chocolate expert here so tell me if this one tastes good." Roxas took a look at it and shook his head.

"You seem to like really sweet stuff you should probably try some with fruits inside." He took one with orange pieces inside. "This one should be good for you." He handed it over to Axel who looked at it suspiciously. "It's not going to attack you, you know."

"I'm just making sure you're not trying to poison me." Roxas shook his head again and started laughing. Seriously what was wrong with him? He had just met Axel and was already going grocery shopping with him.

"Alright, Axel. I have to go back to the dorm and study since I missed a whole day." Axel didn't seem to be happy about that. He looked just like a puppy you had to leave outside the store to get dog food.

"Let's go on a date!"

"Excuse me?" Roxas wasn't quite sure if he had understood that right. Did Axel just ask him out?

"Let's go on a date, Roxas. Just the two of us!" He was so excited how could anyone say no to that. It just wasn't fair. These eyes should be illegal.

Roxas sighed and looked down. "Fine." Axel jumped like a little schoolgirl and ran off with his chocolate. "I'll pick you up at 7." With that he was gone.

It was incredible how he always ended up in such situations. This felt so very familiar somehow.

* * *

Roxas arrived at his dorm and threw the groceries in a corner. What was he even supposed to wear? Where would they go? He took a look at his desk where Axel's phone number still was lying. He hadn't even noticed the little piece of paper until now. He didn't want to seem too excited but the fear of being underdressed made him save the number in his phone and send a text to the owner.

- what should i wear? -

- the usual -

Great. He had a lot of usual clothes. Frustrated he threw his phone on the bed and opened his closet. Oh, right. Yesterday should have been laundry day which meant that he barely had clothes to wear right now. The frustration kept growing inside of Roxas as he tried to find a decent looking outfit.

In the end he went for grey, washed out jeans and a black t-shirt. Nothing too fancy but still good enough for a first date. Why did he even say yes. He didn't know Axel at all but he already had his phone number and now they had their first date. He didn't even know him for 24 hours!

Instead of thinking about it too much he took a shower and got dressed. Then he tried to tame the mess he called hair. Thanks to it's gravity defying trait he barely tried taming it. It would end up sticking in every direction anyway, so why bother? He decided against it this time too after at least 30 minutes frustrated attempting. Axel would have to deal with his usual messy self.

Thankfully he didn't have too much time left until Axel arrived to pick him up. He just filled his fridge with food when he heard a knock coming from his door. Roxas closed the fridge and went over to open the door for Axel, who entered the room as if he lived there.

"Are you ready, Roxas?"

"Do I look like it?" Axel was a little confused by that. How was he supposed to know? "Yes, I am ready, let's go."

"Are you that excited to spend time with me? That's so cute." Roxas turned bright red in return and hurried out of his room.

"Just hurry already."

Axel couldn't help but laugh at the small boy. He was still anxious about their date though. What if Roxas didn't like his plan? What if he would just run off? What if Roxas thought it was too cheesy?

He just had to hope for the best.

Axel hurried after Roxas and they both went to the train station. Where the hell did Axel want to take him? Couldn't they stay?

"What exactly is your plan for tonight?" Roxas looked around when they were at the plaza in front of the clock tower. No one was there which was no surprise. There wouldn't depart any trains in the next hour or something. He wasn't sure.

"Just wait here I'll be right back." Axel didn't even wait for a reply, he just ran away leaving Roxas behind alone. Roxas sat down on the stairs in front of the train station and waited for Axel to return. The redhead didn't take long to return and held two weird packages in his hand. Was that ice cream?

"Let's go!" Axel took Roxas' hand and led him to the backdoor.

"Where are we going?" Roxas asked while he was being dragged up stairs.

"I want to show you something." That didn't sound very trustworthy. Why were they taking the backdoor anyway?

"Axel is it even legal to go up there?"

"Nope!"

Roxas shook his head and followed him all the way to the top. When they reached the end of the stairs there was a little door. Axel broke it open without leaving any traces.

"Hurry, Roxas!"

They closed the door behind them and walked over to the edge right in front of the clock. There wasn't much space to walk or sit down and it was really high up. Roxas didn't really enjoy the idea of standing there.

Axel sat down and let his legs dangle over the edge. Roxas did the same but made sure to not look down. When he finally relaxed a little he looked in the distance. "Wow."

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Axel looked at Roxas and was very pleased with the reaction he got.

Seeing the town like this was great. He hadn't even known that he lived in such a beautiful town. Roxas only paid attention to Axel when he held the ice cream right in front of his face.

"What's this?"

"Seasalt ice cream. It's really good you should try it." Roxas looked at it suspiciously.

"It's not going to attack you."

"I'm just making sure you're not trying to poison me."

How as it possible that they were already this comfortable around eachother? They had barely met and already acted like they've known eachother for decades. Maybe because all of this seemed so very familiar.

"Axel, have we met somewhere before?" Roxas looked at the sunset while asking this and took another bite from the ice cream. It really was good. Salty but sweet.

"I was about to ask you the same thing actually." Axel started laughing. "Maybe we met in an earlier life!" He looked at the sunset too now. "I wonder how that turned out."

Roxas looked at Axel. Somehow he had the feeling that it didn't turn out well. Maybe this time it was better. He didn't know why but he definitely wanted to spend more time with Axel. He felt safe and comfortable around him. It was really nice.

"Let's meet again tomorrow. Same time. Up here. I'll bring the ice cream this time."

Axel turned his head to look at Roxas who was grinning at him. "That'd be great."

* * *

After they both finished they're ice cream and the sun was gone behind the horizon, Roxas got up to walk back to his dorm. It was late already and he had to get up earlier tomorrow so he wouldn't miss any classes. Just when he thought he stood steady the clock behind them started to chime. Roxas was startled by the sudden noise and lost his footing making him fall over the edge.

Axel didn't take a single second to react and grab Roxas' hand.

"Don't you dare let go of my hand." Of course Roxas hadn't even thought about it. He'd never think about something like that. He held onto Axel's hand and tried to grab it with his other hand too but he couldn't.

"Please don't let me fall." Roxas was so damn afraid of falling. Why did he even agree to coming up there. Why didn't he say something. He should've told Axel that he was afraid of heights. No he had to be a hero and not say anything.

While in his thoughts he hadn't realized that Axel was pulling him up again. Roxas grabbed the edge of the tower and tried pulling himself up. It was like every strength had left him.

It was their first date and it already ended in a mess. Maybe it would even end with a dead body?

"Roxas don't even think about letting go. I know that face. I have seen people die in front of my eyes. Don't you dare give up now." Roxas had tears in his eyes but nodded. He was too heavy if he didn't help Axel he'd pull both of them down.

"Whatever you do Roxas, don't give up." Roxas felt something wet fall on his head. At first he thought it had started to rain but then he realized it were Axel's tears.

Their date couldn't end like this. He couldn't just leave Axel behind like this. They were sure they've met already in a past life and they were sure it hadn't ended well so they had to change it this time. That was not how to make it better.

Roxas grabbed the edge again and helped pulling himself up but this time he made it. He was safe.

They both collapsed on the spot clinging to eachother. "I'm so sorry, Roxas. Let's go somehwere else tomorrow." Roxas didn't answer. He was sure he wouldn't get out any words anyway so he just nodded.


End file.
